Dentifrices are used to clean, bleach, whiten, and otherwise treat the teeth and gums. Generally, the active ingredients in a dentifrice are contained within a carrier.
For an abrasive, most toothpaste comprises various types of silica to debride and physically scrub the external surface of the teeth. This scrubbing action removes the organic film (i.e. the pellicle), formed of salivary proteins which covers the teeth and which is known to become stained and discolored by foods, such as coffee, tea and berries, as well as, by tobacco smoke, cationic antibacterials, and chromogenic bacteria. Such physical removal of the stained pellicle is a simple and effective means of removing the undesirable surface staining and discoloration which occurs daily. Further, such physical removal of the pellicle also removes plaque bacteria on the pellicle surface.
The carrier can be a paste (i.e., toothpaste) or a gel (i.e., brushing gels and bleaching gels) or an equivalent vehicle suitable for oral use. The dentifrice can be dispensed onto a brushing device or, in some cases, onto a tray, stint or mouth guard, and then the dental surfaces are brushed or polished for a sufficient period of time. “Gels” are thickened by a gelling agent that hydrogen bonds a dispersion medium to produce a semisolid, transparent, jelly-like material. In contrast, “pastes” are thickened by the addition of fillers. However, the line between gels and pastes is not always clear. Furthermore, sometimes dentifrices that are opaque and/or contain one or more abrasive fillers are labeled pastes, even if they exhibit gel-like properties. Therefore, in describing the present invention, the term “dentifrice” will be used to clearly indicate that both gels and pastes are embraced.
In dental polishing compositions, such as disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,702,905; 4,528,180, 4,705,680 and 4,814,160, combinations of such ingredients are disclosed and are directed to dental creams, pastes and gels which incorporate the well-known cleaning or polishing components such as water-insoluble alkaline earth metal salts or similar agents.
These cleaning compositions are useful and satisfactory for manual brushing of teeth. However, these conventional agents are not satisfactory for use with cosmetic dental patients with porcelain veneers, caps or crowns. Harder and finer abrasives are typically necessary to accomplish a higher degree of polishing as opposed to mere cleaning of such surfaces to provide a smooth, mirror-like finish.
There exist presently, polishes that are used with cosmetic dental appliances which contain diamond particles, but they are designed for use in polishing porcelain and composite tooth restoration materials in “chairside applications” as well as being useful in laboratory and industrial applications. Products such as diamond particles in a glycerin base paste have been used in dental offices for years for porcelain crowns.
The use of diamond particulates in a dentifrice for use by patients at home has not previously been available due to the general understanding by those of ordinary skill in the dental or oral hygiene arts, that diamond particles are too abrasive for use on natural tooth enamel by the ordinary consumer.